Article -- Forget Juice Cleanses. Autophagy Is the Real Way to Detox Your Body

[Wayne]

I liked the following linked article, and was particularly intrigued by the description of the protein fast. I've noticed over the years, that when I'm feeling particularly sluggish, minimizing protein and carbohydrates for a day or so while eating minimally--mostly fatty foods like raw goat cheese and avacado--helps me pull out of it.

So it appears autophagy has been working for me in ways I wasn't aware of. -- I found the title interesting that a ketogenic diet (high fat, low carb) is key to autophagy, and may cleanse the body better than juice fasting. -- Best!

Forget Juice Cleanses. Autophagy Is the Real Way to Detox Your Body

Here's some snippets...

Over time, our cells accumulate a variety of dead organelles, damaged proteins, and oxidized particles that clog the body’s inner workings. ...... Autophagy, the method by which your body cleans out damaged cells and toxins, helps you regenerate newer, healthier cells.

There are five crucial ways to activate your autophagy: eat a high-fat diet, low-carb diet; limit protein intake to 15 grams/day once a week; practice intermittent fasting; exercise; and get restorative sleep.

1. Eat a high-fat low-darb Diet

“Fat needs to be the dominant macronutrient in our diets because it’s different from protein. Whereas protein can turn into a carb and become a sugar, [fat cannot].” Specifically, a keto diet (a high-fat, low-carb meal plan) gives you an edge you when it comes to autophagy. The shift from burning glucose (carbs) to ketones (fats) that occurs on a keto diet mimics what occurs naturally in a fasted state — and this increases autophagy in its own right.[7]

2. Go on a protein fast

Once or twice a week, limit your protein consumption to 15-25 grams a day. This gives your body a full day to recycle proteins, which will help reduce inflammation and cleanse your cells without any muscle loss. During this time, while autophagy gets triggered, your body is forced to consume its own proteins and toxins. Read more on the best ways to go on a protein fast.​

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[Runner5]

On Youtube Delaur's channel he goes over "who shouldn't fast" -- I couldn't find the link to that vid but here is his channel
https://www.youtube.com/user/TheTdelauer
(full disclosure, Delaur is all about that Keto life and fasting) -- this is a pro-fasting video site.

But turns out fasting is not a good idea if you're female and still have your period. Your body with its estrogen prioritizes fat storage. It freaks out when you start seriously skipping some meals. So Delaur and the community usually say, limit your fasting to 12-16 hours a day and don't go beyond that if you're pre-menopausal female.

So I gave fasting a good go, because of the Michael Mosley BBC documentary (totally should Youtube watch that, it's a good one) and I was like -- heck yeah, I'm going to regrow my brain!! So I went all in. I worked up to a 48 hour fast at one point - which I shouldn't have but I really wanted to heal.

Um' so yeah -- the thing is with fasting you still have to count calories or be in deficit. You just do. So I wasn't counting calories (a lot of people do say "eat anything, eat however much you want!"), because I would get so hungry afterwards that I would eat and eat and eat. And I was doing Keto back then so it was all fat and meat and avocado -- super high calories. I gained 10lbs like super fast. And it was all fat, it was nasty belly roll weird fat.

The only mental clarity and energy boost was just getting rid of my glycogen stores, when those were gone - energy was gone. That was that. Then I just sat around hungry and fatigued.

My brain did not improve. That was unfortunate. I'm working on the old mellon. I definitely have memory and a lot of issues with my brain.

I think it works better for men and post-meno women. Check out Butter Bob on Youtube, he does the IF and the Low-Carb and he's a fellow Southener so love that guy.

I liked the eating only once a day thing (although I ate like a Thanksgiving dinner every night it felt like) but now I eat throughout the day tiny amounts and that works too. I have a calorie budget and am Vegan and that has worked the best for me so far.

I have GI issues, fat and meat are kinda hard to digest for me anyway. It never ends well.

Been Vegetarian now for 6 months which is probably the longest I've ever stuck with anything. Had a few hiccups - like I can't eat whole grains, particularly oatmeal. But over all I've made some good improvements - nothing supernatural or amazing, but steady progress. I've been using an app called Luminosity (Luminosity.com) to train my brain and exercise it.

 

[Wayne]

I worked up to a 48 hour fast at one point - which I shouldn't have but I really wanted to heal.

Hi @Runner5,

Quite an interesting story. -- Thought I'd post another snippet from the article I linked to, which makes some suggestions for women who are interested in trying intermittent fasting.

"If done incorrectly, intermittent fasting can cause hormone imbalances in women. That’s because women are highly sensitive to signs of starvation or calorie restriction. To sidestep issues, consume a fat-only breakfast, like Bulletproof Coffee. By keeping carbs and protein out of your meal, you remain in a fasting state, while the fat tells your body that you’re not starving. Read more about how women can practice intermittent fasting safely.
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[Runner5]

I watched a bodybuilder today and she skipped breakfast, but had lunch (carb / protein) after workout snack / meal (carb / protein) and saved up all her fats for dinner time. It's interesting, I'm thinking of doing it again or moving breakfast out to 10am or something.

 

[Runner5]

Let us know how it goes.

 

[Hip]

From the pathogen perspective, some infections are hampered by autophagy, but others like coxsackievirus B thrive on it (see this post).

That said, I have high titers to CVB4, but when I did a caloric restriction diet eating only 800 kilocalories a day for 2 months, I did not notice any worsening or improvements of ME/CFS.